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Worker Wellness Blog thru Feb 22, 2026

Updated: Feb 23


This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness blog looks at how school shootings affect families—to the impact childhood trauma has on adults—to the concept of ‘pleasanteeism’ and the number of employees working unwell.

 

Focal Point: This week I wish to discuss with our readers British Standards Institution’s BS 30480.[1] This is the UK’s first attempt to develop a standard that addresses suicide in the workplace. Many of our readers know that for the past 2 years I have been working on a pilot study focused on the acute phase of suicide postvention in the construction industry. While doing so, I have come to realize that in order to bring suicide rates down, we must link the 3 legs of the ‘suicide triangle’: prevention, intervention, and postvention. To this end, it warms my heart that our neighbors across the pond have taken this bold and much needed step to ensure organizations going forward consider all 3 legs of the suicide triangle, in less than 60 pages.

 

Below is a brief overview:

1) Prevention: I like how this standard moves beyond recognizing risks and warning signs that tend to be about the person vs the organization. While it is important to address myths concerning one’s suicidal thoughts and behaviors, this standard digs into the what is a supportive workplace culture, what causes workplace distress, and what are the ethical considerations.

 

2) Intervention: Anyone who has taken a QPR course, knows how important it is to ask the ‘suicide’ question. Again, this standard takes matters to the next level by recognizing what a person in distress might say and how to respond, helpful/harmful copings strategies, and the role safety planning plays.

 

3) Postvention: It is worth noting that the British team preferred to use the phrase, Support for people affected by suicide vs postvention. Nonetheless, while it remains crucial for workplaces to have a postvention plan and incident team in place before experiencing a suicide attempt or death, there is no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes each worker’s bereavement and/ or grief. How a manager, peer, or office staff member responds to a worker’s suicide death is bound to disrupt business as usual and may have lifelong implications. Finally, due to lived experiences, peer support is highlighted as a key ingredient in administering support services during this often overlooked leg of the suicide triangle.

 

For too long, these 3 legs have been dealt with in siloes which, in my opinion, has stifled substantial progress. Make no mistake, while recent suicide deaths—in general and in construction—have decreased slightly, we still have a long way to go!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upcoming webinars, etc.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTE: The links provided above are for informational purposes only. None of these serve as a substitute for medical advice one should obtain from his/her own primary care physician and/or mental health professional. Please contact Dr John Gaal, Chief Learning Officer, at stlbtwc@gmail.com with related questions or comments.

 
 
 

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